No One Told You Life Was Gonna Be This Way
by Leo Luna
Summary: AU When a band of vastly different teens meet at a boarding school, it seems like they could never all get along, but when you're down on your luck is when you realize what you need isn't what you thought. RichKori, GarRach, CyOC
1. Welcome To Your Life

So yeah, this is such a typical idea, but I needed a little something to get the creative juices flowing, and this hit the spot.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Teen Titans. If I did, it would not be canceled right now, believe me. I also don't own 'I'll Be There For You' by the Rembrants.

And for those of you who don't read the comics, Tara Terra.

* * *

_**"So no one told you life was gonna be this way,  
Your job's a joke, you're broke, your love life's D.O.A.**_

_**It's like you're always stuck in second gear,  
And it hasn't been your day, your week, your month,  
or even your year, but**_

_**I'll be there for you, when the rain starts to pour.  
I'll be there for you, like I've been there before.  
I'll be there for you, because you're there for me too."**_

_** -**_** 'I'll Be There For You', The Rembrants**

* * *

The dark haired boy stopped for a second, leaning against the wall and taking a breath. Holy crap, this was a lot of stairs. Of course he was fit, but he was a little out of practice at running and such, since he'd spent all summer packing and convincing his dad to let him go to boarding school, which was where he was now. He took a deep breath, casting a hateful glance at his suitcase, which he'd figured must weigh at least eighty pounds. 

Suddenly, the wall behind him fell away and he tumbled backwards, yelling in surprise. There was a yelp above him and he looked up to see a girl with bright red hair and green eyes looking down at him, confused. He instantly jumped up, blushing slightly.

"S-sorry, I was just leaning against the wall...well, I guess it wasn't really a wall, it was your door. Sorry!" he said, reaching to pick up his suitcase, dragging it towards the staircase. The girl shrugged, closing the door gently. "Dammit, Rich, you've always got to screw up in front of the pretty ones, don't you?" he muttered to himself, turning around for a moment to lift up his suitcase. Unfortunately, his heel slipped on the stair and he felt himself falling, and after a second he hit the floor again, whacking his head on the girl's door shortly before his suitcase landed on top of him. The door opened again and the girl looked down at him.

"Would you like some help with that?" she asked, gesturing to the suitcase. Rich smiled sheepishly.

* * *

Garfield kicked back on his bed, finally able to rest. He hadn't been able to get his aunt and uncle to clear out for at least an hour, because they'd been so concerned with getting him 'settled in'. But at last, he had the room to himself...at least until the roommates arrived. He'd been sent a sheet with their names and some basic facts, one was Richard Grayson from Gotham, and the other was Victor Stone from Star City. He'd memorized their names and hometowns, which was probably good, considering he had no idea where the paper that said them was. Probably under his comics somewhere, he guessed. At this thought, he perked up, and got off his bed. He sat down in front of a bookshelf filled with comics, ninety percent of which were of one series: Teen Patrol. It was his favorite comic, had been since his parents had bought him the first issue when he was ten, right before they'd died in a car crash. He sighed, shaking that thought out of his head, and pulled out the first issue, his favorite, the one where all the heroes came together for the first time. He was about to sit back down on his bed and have a good long read, but at that moment there were footsteps in the hallway outside. 

"Wow, you-you're really strong." said a boy's voice. A girl giggled.

"My father was going to give me a body guard if I didn't learn to defend myself, part of which was strength training." the girl said, and Gar noticed she had a strange accent, and spoke rather oddly, like English wasn't her first language. In a second she entered the room, carrying a suitcase. She had long, straight red hair and green eyes, both of which contrasted with the boy who followed her. He had messy black hair and blue eyes, which were staring, slightly lovestruck, at the girl. Gar could see why. She was gorgeous.

"Please, tell me you're my new roommate." he said, half-jokingly to the girl, who giggled. The boy shot him an apprehensive look, and Gar couldn't help but smirk a little.

"No, I am not. I was simply helping Richard here with his suitcase." she said, motioning to the boy who had entered with her, and who turned bright red as Gar barely suppressed a snort of laughter. The boy, Richard, glanced down, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Th-thanks. Call me Rich." the boy, Rich, muttered.

"So you're Richard Grayson?" Gar asked, and Rich looked relieved to have something to say.

"Uh, yeah. You're my roommate?" he said, still casting the occasional glance at the redhead.

"Yup," Gar said, standing up and extending his hand, "Gar Logan at your service." Rich shook it, but then the girl spoke and he whipped back around to look at her. Gar snickered again.

"I'll be going now, I have got to meet my roommates." she turned to leave, but Gar called out:

"Wait! I don't believe you've told us your name, princess." he said, and she giggled again.

"Korrine," she said, "Korinne Anders, but you two can call me Kory." with that, she left. Gar looked over at Rich, who was staring at the doorway, somewhat awestruck.

"Ah, the throws of young love." Gar said, and Rich seemed to snap out of a trance.

"No idea what you're talking about." he muttered, dragging his suitcase towards a bed in the corner

* * *

A girl with violet hair smoothed out a few wrinkles in her blanket, before turning around to look at the room. At first she'd thought she was the first one there, but then she'd noticed a set of pink suitcases near one of the other beds, and deduced that this roommate must have gone out for coffee or something. Her own luggage consisted of one suitcase and her slightly torn up messenger bag, which held all of her books, the suitcase her clothing. The room itself was small, but cozy, and she'd certainly had to stay in much smaller in her time. There were two windows that let in a bit of the sun's light, and two other beds besides the one she had claimed, which was also the closest to the bookshelf. 

Suddenly, the door handle turned and a girl appeared, a pair of blonde pig-tails bobbing behind her as the bounced in. She saw the girl and smiled, before dropping her suitcase and duffel bag beside the last remaining bed, which was parallel to Rachel's.

"Hi!" she said, "I'm Tara. Tara Markov."

"Um, Rachel...Rachel Roth." the violet-haired girl said. Tara had surprised her, she'd entered the room so quickly.

"Glad to meet you!" Tara continued, unzipping her bag, taking out some clothes, and slipping them into a drawer in the dresser between their beds. Rachel followed suit, although admittedly, she wasn't much of a clothes person, and most of her wardrobe consisted of jeans and purple t-shirts, where as Terra's had much brighter colors: white, red, orange, and yellow dominated the ensemble.

* * *

"Ow, Vic! Be more careful!" said a small, skinny, oriental girl as she glared at the boy across from her. 

"Sorry, Kimmy. But move faster, woman, we've got one more floor to go!" he said, as the girl, Kimmy, rolled her eyes at him. Their parents had been friends forever, and in a desperate attempt to get Victor interested in academics more than sports, they'd sent him to boarding school with Kimmy, who'd always gotten under his skin, ever since they were six and busy throwing sand at each other in the park. Needless to say, this wasn't exactly a year he was looking forward to, but all the same, it was rather nice to have someone he knew here (although he'd never admit to being happy about Kimmy's presence.. He'd never been good with making friends, which is why the concept of having two roommates freaked him out a little.

"I can't believe your parents sent you here." she said, glancing behind her so she didn't trip and end up with the trunk they were both carrying on top of her.

"Yeah, trust me, Kim, I'm not so psyched about it myself. They tried to get the administration to give me the same schedule as you, too. Luckily I dodged that one." Vic said, smirking at the girl across the trunk from him. Kimmy stuck out her tongue.

"Oh, look, your room. See you later!" she said, dropping her end of the trunk and scurrying down the stairs before Victor could catch her. He laughed a little, turning to see that it was indeed his room. He lugged the trunk through the doorway, turning around to see two boys already in the room. One was a small kid with blonde, green-streaked hair, who was talking about a million miles a minute, and the other a rather skinny but fit one with messy black hair, who currently had his head stuck under a pillow, Victor assumed to try to ignore the other kid's incessant jabbering.

"Um, hey guys, I'm Vic Stone." he said, and both the boys looked at him, the first stopped talking and the other removed his head from the pillow. The little blonde kid was the first to speak.

"Hey," he said, smiling, "I'm Gar, that's Rich over there." - the other boy waved slightly, unable to get a word in - "I guess that last bed is yours. Hey, you look really strong. Do you play sports? Rich probably could have used your help earlier, with his suitcase, huh Rich?" Rich responded by pushing his face back into the pillow, muttering something neither of the others could understand.

* * *

Kory trotted back down the stairs, dodging a boy and girl who were carrying a large trunk on the way, heading back towards her room. That black haired boy, Rich, had seemed rather skittish, turning red every time he looked at her. She wondered if there was something wrong with her and found herself blushing, but quickly shook off the embarrassment, though she couldn't keep a small smile at bay. The other boy, Gar, had been somewhat cute, but not nearly as attractive as the first. She giggled a little bit at herself, she'd only been here, what, a little over an hour? And she'd already found herself swooning over a cute boy. Of course, there was reason for this, since there hadn't been many boys around her father's estate back home, in Tamaria, and those that had been there were either diplomats, like her father, or servants. She was glad to be out, she thought, as she finally reached her room. 

Upon entering, she saw that the room was no longer empty, there were two other people in it, one with purple hair, who was sitting cross-legged on her bed, reading, and a blonde who was hanging a poster of a band above her bed.

"Hi!" said the blonde, jumping down off her bed, "I'm Tara Markov." She smiled warmly and Kory smiled back. The other was still engrossed in her book, until Tara walked over and tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up quickly, as though she'd just been awoken. "New roommate!" Tara said, gesturing to Kory.

"Oh! Sorry. Hi. I'm Rachel Roth." the violet-haired one said, smiling a little.

"I am Kory Anders, pleased to meet you." Kory said, curtsying a little as her mother had taught her to do when meeting new people. Tara gave a little laugh.

"No need to curtsy for us, I think. Where is your accent from, if you don't mind my asking?" she said.

"Oh, I grew up in Tamaria. My parents thought it would be best for me to see more of the world, so they sent me here, to see America." she explained. That was partly true, at least. She didn't mention the fight she and her mother had, or that she'd really been sent away as punishment for not being a 'respectful heir to her father's diplomacy'. Whatever that meant.

* * *

So there it is, I hope you enjoyed it. I may actually make this into a longer story than some of my others, I'm really starting to like this one. 


	2. Exactly Where You

Yay, someone reviewed! I thank you more than I can say. :)

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Teen Titans or These Days by Chantal Kreviazuk, or anything else I may make a reference to.

Yeah, and this is basically a Rachel/Gar chapter, just because that's what I was in the mood for.

* * *

**_"I'll lend you my tears,  
If I could borrow your smile.  
And we'll get through tomorrow  
Some other today.  
Happy after, once upon these days."_**

_**- 'These Days", Chantal Kreviazuk**_

* * *

Rachel stood in front of the bulletin board in the hallway, looking over all the job possibilities. It was Sunday, the day after she'd arrived, and already, she needed a job, preferably one that would give her overtime as well as her normal hours. She needed all the money she could get, seeing as she was here on a full scholarship, and had barely been able to scrape together enough for her schoolbooks. After they'd left her dad, her mom had been working to feed both of them, and Rachel knew it had taken a toll on her, which is why she'd tried for this scholarship in the first place. She'd had a job back home, working at the local diner, which was how she'd paid for her books. Everything else she'd earned she'd sent anonymously to her mom, hoping she would use it instead of refusing to accept charity, as she usually did. 

Sadly, all she could see in the employment area right now was babysitting, which she had a feeling wouldn't work so well for her, and a few other mundane jobs which wouldn't pay well at all, she was sure. Finally, her eyes fell on something that drew her attention. She stepped closer to the sheet of paper, reading it more carefully. It was an ad for the local coffee shop, but down at the very bottom, in small print, was written: Cashiers Needed - Apply At Java Junction - Located in Corbin Hall. A small smile crossed her face and she hurried quickly out of the building and towards Corbin Hall, following the map she'd been given the day before when she'd arrived.

On her way there, she thought about her roommates. They were pretty decent people. Tara was outgoing and easygoing, it wasn't hard to get along with her. She liked rock music and wanted to be a geologist when she grew up. The other girl, Kory, was a little more eccentric. She loved the color pink and was very, very talkative, but she was pretty nice as well. All in all, boarding school hadn't been a total disaster so far, she just hoped it would stay that way. Finally, she arrived at the doors to Corbin Hall. The doors were heavy, but after pushing through them, she looked around to see a row of cafes and restaurants on one side of the hall, and a school supply store, a clothing store, and a bookstore on the other. She walked down the hall, dodging around a group of giggling girls and nearly getting hit with a football a few guys were tossing back and forth as they ran towards the doors.

She began to near the end of the hall, and started to fear that the coffee shop had closed down or something when at last, her eyes fell upon a sign hanging over a counter which read JAVA JUNCTION: FOR ALL YOUR CAFFEINATED NEEDS. She approached the counter warily, there was no one in line and there didn't appear to be anyone working there, either. She quietly leaned over the counter, looking around for someone to ask about a job, and she had just about given up when someone rushed past behind her, cursing loudly. She turned around, bewildered, just in time to see a boy vault over the counter and land behind it, pulling on an apron as he did.

"Hey! Can I get you something?" he asked, and Rachel opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off. "Sorry about the flying leap over the counter. I overslept. I'm always running somewhere, it seems." he smiled good-naturedly.

"Um, actually I'm here about a job?" she said and the boy seemed to brighten up a little.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, holding out his hand. Rachel shook it. "That's a horse of a different color. The name's Wally West. The requirements for a job here are pretty basic. You'd come here after class, around three thirty or so, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, then you basically stand here and once in a blue moon a customer stops by. It's a rare occurrence, but it does happen occasionally."

"Well, but, if no one ever comes here, then what does it pay?" Rachel asked. She didn't want to end up making a dollar a day because she'd chosen the most uncrowded place on campus to work, but Wally had an answer for that, too.

"Oh, don't worry about that. Some alumni guy started this place when he was a senior here, then he went off to college and became a doctor, made a whole lot of money, and left it all to this school to keep good old Java Junction running. We still get paid off the money he left. It's not a big salary, but seven dollars an hour is about the most you can make around here." he explained, as he pulled a Java Junction cap out from under the counter and put it on his head. Rachel was amazed.

"H-he really left that much money? I mean, eight dollars an hour seems like a lot if no one ever buys anything..." she said.

"Well, it's usually only two people who work here, so there's actually a lot of money left over. There are supposed to be four people a year, but it's been me and Donna, she's my boss, since the beginning of last year. Oh, and I'd be forever grateful if you could refrain from telling her I was late. She'll kill me." he said, looking around rather nervously, as though this Donna girl might tackle him at any moment. Rachel didn't know what to say, but the job was sounding pretty good so far.

"Um, alright." she said, smiling a little, "So do I get the job?" Wally smiled back.

"Sure! I'll be glad to have a some days off this year. Hop over here and I'll show you how the register works, just in case someone decides to buy something here someday."

* * *

Gar sighed as he stuck another comic back in it's rightful place on his bookshelf. He was bored out of his mind, and classes didn't start till the next day. Rich was snoozing on his bed, and Vic had gone out to run laps. He couldn't turn his music on or Rich would kill him (he was sure that was quite possible, Rich was stronger than he looked) and he'd already read ten issues of Teen Patrol. With a sigh, he stood up, opening the door as quietly as he could. Rich stirred a little, and Gar darted out, closing the door gently behind him. He hadn't explored the campus yet, and he needed to know the territory before he started planning his practical jokes. He trotted down the stairs, not bothering to bring his campus map. His sense of direction would guide him.

"Oh, crap. Crap, crappity, crap!" Gar muttered, looking around him. He'd somehow ended up lost, although he didn't even know how that was possible. He had been following a brick walkway, passed a few trees, and suddenly he was...well, he didn't KNOW where he was. Grumbling, he wandered in the general direction he thought he'd come from. Man, what he wouldn't give for some coffee right then and there. In his rush to pack he hadn't brought any coffee with him and he had been regretting it ever since. He crashed through a few more trees, and after tripping over a fallen branch or two, he emerged from the woods at the foot of a hill. He looked around, not much more aware of his location as he had been in the woods, but suddenly he heard someone shout, and a football flew right over his head.

"Hey!" yelled a male voice, and Gar looked up. A boy appeared at the top of the hill. "Can you throw that back?" he called, and it took Gar a moment to realize he meant the football, and he obliged before starting up the hill himself, and to his surprise, there were tons of people wandering by. He groaned and rolled his eyes. He'd been a dozen yards from the campus this whole time. Annoyed, he started across the grass, and quickly found a brick path that lead towards a large building with CORBIN HALL written above the large doors. He pushed his way through the heavy doors and wandered inside, dodging through the crowd of people who were heading towards restaurants or yelling into cell phones. Every single store and restaurant in the place was packed, and the noise was almost unbearable, and he had to fight his way past a group of screaming girls before he finally saw a store that was completely deserted. It was only a small yellow counter with a neon sigh hanging over it that said "JAVA JUNCTION", but it was the only place that wasn't going to trigger a claustrophobia attack for Gar. He pushed through the last of the crowd and finally approached the counter. There was someone sitting behind it, a book held in front of their face. Gar cleared his throat to get their attention, and when they didn't look up, he leaned over the counter and knocking on the cover of the book. The person jumped and lowered the book quickly. It was a girl with violet-colored hair and a surprised look on her face that Gar found himself looking at.

"Oh! Welcome to Java Junction, for all your caffeinated needs. How may I help you?" she said, rather monotonously. Gar looked around for a menu, but the girl spoke again. "There's no menu. Sorry. No one ever really comes here. We have normal coffee, and I can try to make a latte if you'd like, but I don't know how it will turn out. Wally only taught me to work the register." Gar barely heard the last thing she said, the only word that mattered to him at the moment was 'coffee'.

"Oh, just a coffee, please," he said. The girl turned around to a black, ancient looking machine behind her, and pushed a few buttons and pulled a few levers before it roared to life. Gar looked her over as she did this; he hadn't really noticed much other than the purple hair before. She was wearing a dark purple tee shirt and jeans under a Java Junction apron, and a pair of scuffed converse sneakers covered her feet. His gaze drifted from her clothing to her hips, which were a perfect size, he couldn't help but think. His eyes lingered a little too long here, because by the time he glanced back up at her face, she was giving him a death glare and holding a cup of coffee out in front of her. He took it, blushing a little.

"Oh, um, thanks," he stammered, taking the cup.

"I catch you staring at me again and that coffee is going to end up in a very uncomfortable place." she muttered, and Gar nodded vigorously.

"Yes, ma'am." he said, and the girl's eyes narrowed even more, and he turned around quickly, walking back into the crowd. Rachel sat back down on the stool behind the counter and picked up her book to read again. After a few pages, she had to give up. That stupid little cretin had thrown off her focus and now all she had to do was sit there and be bored. Dammit.


End file.
